The present invention relates to a postage metering system using digital printing.
A conventional postage meter is comprised of a vault and impact printing mechanism housed in a secure housing having tamper detection. The printing mechanism is specifically designed to provide a physical barrier preventing unauthorized access to the printing mechanism except during the posting process. It is now known to use postage meters employing digital printing techniques. In such systems, the vault and digital printer remain secure within the secure housing.
It is also known to employ a postage meter in combination with an inserting system for the processing of a mail stream. It has been determined that it would be beneficial to configure a postage metering system which is configured to employ an inserter and digital printer in combination with a remotely located vault. Such a configuration, however, exposes the digital printer system to tampering, that is, the accounting and printer control apparatus are remotely and are electrically interconnected to a print head. Data exchanged between the two devices is subject to interception and possible tampering since the electrical interconnects are not physically secure.